CN110770096A

CN110770096A - Cleaning system for vehicle and vehicle with cleaning system for vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN110770096A
Application number: CN201880039736.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 阪井健; 近藤雅之; 河村和贵; 久保田晃宜
Original assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-06-13
Filing date: 2018-05-18
Publication date: 2020-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-18
Also published as: JP2022169735A; EP3640099B1; JPWO2018230255A1; JP2021193025A; EP3640099A1; JP7367149B2; WO2018230255A1; JP7133550B2; JP7438173B2; EP4282715A3; EP3640099A4; JP2023179658A; EP4282715A2; US20200180567A1; CN116001730A; CN110770096B

Abstract

A vehicle cleaning system (100) is provided with: a single pump (112); a plurality of cleaners (101-108) which are respectively connected with a single pump (112) and wash different washing objects including a sensor for detecting information outside the vehicle through a washing medium; and a cleaner control unit (116) that operates the plurality of cleaners (101-108) in response to the input of the signal. The cleaner control unit (116) is configured to be able to operate the plurality of cleaners (101-108) in such a manner that the cleaning modes of the plurality of cleaners (101-108) are different from each other.

Description

Cleaning system for vehicle and vehicle with cleaning system for vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vehicle cleaning system for cleaning a cleaning object and a vehicle having the vehicle cleaning system.

Background

A vehicle headlamp cleaner is known from patent document 1 and the like.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016-187990

Disclosure of Invention

In addition, in recent years, development of a vehicle capable of autonomous driving is being attempted. In order to realize autonomous driving, it is required to maintain the sensitivity of an onboard sensor such as a LiDAR or a camera well. Therefore, a sensor cleaner for cleaning these in-vehicle sensors is required. The appropriate cleaning method differs depending on the place and type of the cleaning object such as an in-vehicle sensor, and if the pump is independently provided for each of the plurality of cleaning objects, the system becomes complicated and the cost increases.

In addition, in addition to the headlight and the windshield, a large amount of cleaning medium is required for cleaning various sensors, but the storage amount of the cleaning medium is limited.

In addition, a cleaner for cleaning these sensors is required in addition to cleaning the headlamp. Therefore, the present inventors have studied a cleaner that sprays a cleaning liquid to clean an object to be cleaned and sprays air to clean the object to be cleaned.

The invention aims to provide a vehicle cleaning system and a vehicle with the vehicle cleaning system, which can inhibit cost and can clean each cleaning object by a proper cleaning mode.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning system capable of maintaining the cleanliness of an object to be cleaned while suppressing the amount of cleaning medium used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle cleaning system that can spray a cleaning liquid and air and is convenient to use.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle cleaning system according to the present invention includes:

a single pump;

a plurality of cleaners connected to the single pump, respectively, for cleaning different objects to be cleaned including a sensor for detecting information on the outside of the vehicle with a cleaning medium; and

a cleaner control unit for operating the plurality of cleaners in response to the input of the signal,

the cleaner control unit is configured to be able to operate the plurality of cleaners so that cleaning methods of the plurality of cleaners are different from each other.

According to the above configuration, when a plurality of objects to be cleaned, for example, different in arrangement location and type, are cleaned using a single pump, the cleaning method differs for each cleaner. Therefore, it is possible to perform cleaning in an appropriate cleaning manner for each object to be cleaned while suppressing the cost as compared with the case of using an independent pump for each object to be cleaned.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

as the cleaning method, at least one of the number of operations of the plurality of cleaners, the spraying time, the spraying amount, the spraying pressure, and the spraying area of the cleaning medium may be different according to a predetermined number of inputs of the signal.

For example, by making the cleaning method different in the cleaner control unit as described above, it is possible to clean each object to be cleaned in an appropriate cleaning method at low cost.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

it may be that the cleaner comprises: a sensor cleaner that cleans the sensor; at least one of a window washer that washes a windshield of the vehicle and a lamp cleaner that washes a lamp of the vehicle,

the cleaner control unit is configured to be able to change a magnitude relationship between the number of operations of the sensor cleaner and the number of operations of at least one of the window washer and the lamp cleaner.

According to the above configuration, the appropriate magnitude relationship between the number of operations of the sensor cleaner and the number of operations of the window washer and/or the lamp cleaner can be selected in accordance with various scenes.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

it may be that the cleaner includes a sensor cleaner for cleaning the sensor and a lamp cleaner for cleaning a lamp of the vehicle,

the spray pressure of the cleaning medium in the sensor cleaner is higher than the spray pressure of the cleaning medium in the lamp cleaner.

It is preferable to blow the cleaning medium at a higher pressure for the sensor whose required cleanliness is higher than that of the lamp.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the cleaning medium may be a cleaning liquid and air that can be supplied to the sensor cleaner.

In the sensor in which the remaining of the cleaning liquid is likely to be a problem, the air is injected separately from the cleaning liquid, and the remaining of the cleaning liquid on the sensor surface can be reliably prevented.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the cleaner may include a plurality of sensor cleaners that respectively clean a plurality of sensors different from each other in at least one of a detection method and a mounting position on the vehicle,

the cleaner control section operates the plurality of sensor cleaners in such a manner that cleaning manners of the plurality of sensor cleaners are different from each other.

For example, sensors such as LiDAR and cameras that detect different methods often require different scenes. Further, the form of dirt varies depending on the mounting position of the sensor. Therefore, by making the cleaning method different for each kind of sensor, the cleanliness can be easily maintained for each sensor corresponding to a specific scene.

In addition, in a cleaning system for a vehicle according to another example of the present invention,

a single pump; and

a plurality of cleaners connected to the single pump, respectively, for cleaning different objects to be cleaned including a sensor for detecting information on the outside of the vehicle with a cleaning medium,

at least one of the type of the cleaning medium, the spray shape of the cleaning medium, the nozzle shapes of the plurality of cleaners, the presence or absence of a wiper, the presence or absence of an inspection valve, and the location where the cleaning object is disposed is different.

For example, as described above, by making the cleaning method different, it is possible to perform cleaning at low cost by an appropriate cleaning method for each object to be cleaned.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

it may be that the cleaner comprises a sensor cleaner for cleaning the sensor,

the sensor cleaner has a fluidic mechanism that varies a flow path of the cleaning medium.

By providing the jet mechanism, the cleaning medium can be sprayed at high pressure to the sensor and the sensor can be cleaned over a wide range.

a window washer that washes a windshield of a vehicle with a washing medium;

a first pump for supplying the washing medium to the window washer;

a sensor cleaner that cleans a sensor that detects information outside the vehicle through the cleaning medium; and

a second pump for supplying the cleaning medium to the sensor cleaner,

a first pipe connecting between the window washer and the first pump to supply the cleaning medium to the window washer is different from a second pipe connecting between the sensor cleaner and the second pump to supply the cleaning medium to the sensor cleaner.

According to the cleaning system of the present invention, by making the pipe lines different between the window washer and the sensor cleaner, it is possible to change the cleaning method such as the spray pressure, the spray time, and the number of sprays of the cleaning medium in accordance with the object to be cleaned. Therefore, the cleaning can be performed in an appropriate cleaning manner for each object to be cleaned.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the cleaner may further include a cleaner control unit configured to control the first pump and the second pump.

According to this configuration, the cleaner control process is facilitated by collectively controlling the pumps.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the first pump and the second pump may be controlled such that the spray pressure of the washing medium from the sensor cleaner is higher than the spray pressure of the washing medium from the window washer.

It is preferable to perform cleaning by blowing the cleaning medium at a higher pressure against a sensor requiring a higher degree of cleanliness than the louver.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the second conduit may be thicker than the first conduit.

With this configuration, the cleaning medium can be blown out at a higher pressure against the sensor and cleaned with a simple configuration.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the second line may be shorter than the first line.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle cleaning system according to the present invention is used for cleaning an object to be cleaned,

the vehicle cleaning system includes:

a cleaner that sprays a cleaning medium onto a surface to be cleaned of the object to be cleaned to clean the surface to be cleaned; and

and a cleaner control unit that operates the cleaner so that a cleaning intensity corresponding to at least one of the plurality of areas and a cleaning intensity corresponding to another area are different on the cleaning target surface including the plurality of areas.

According to the cleaning system of the present disclosure, since the cleaning medium can be efficiently sprayed to the region to be cleaned in the surface to be cleaned, the cleaning medium can be saved, and the cleanliness of the object to be cleaned can be maintained.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the varying of the cleaning intensity may include varying at least one of the number of times of spraying the cleaning medium, a spraying time, a spraying amount, a spraying pressure, and a spraying area.

According to this configuration, the cleaning method is made different according to the area of the surface to be cleaned, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the apparatus may further comprise a dirt detecting section that detects which of the plurality of regions has dirt,

the cleaner control unit changes the cleaning intensity in accordance with an output of the dirt detection unit.

According to this configuration, since the cleaning medium can be ejected only to the portion where dirt is detected, it is possible to save the cleaning medium and increase the ejection pressure of the cleaning medium corresponding to the region to be cleaned, for example. This improves the cleaning efficiency and maintains the cleanliness of the object to be cleaned.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the plurality of regions may be formed by respective regions divided in the left-right direction of the surface to be cleaned.

As described above, it is preferable to divide the cleaning target region.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the cleaner may have a nozzle having at least one opening for ejecting the cleaning medium,

the at least one opening can be changed in orientation so as to face the plurality of regions, respectively.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

the cleaner may have a nozzle having a plurality of openings for spraying the cleaning medium,

the plurality of openings are arranged corresponding to the plurality of regions, respectively.

In addition, in the cleaning system for a vehicle of the present invention,

it may be that the cleaner has a plurality of nozzles for spraying the cleaning medium,

the plurality of nozzles are arranged in at least three directions in the left-right direction and above the object to be cleaned.

With these configurations, the cleaning target region can be easily changed.

In addition, a vehicle cleaning system according to an aspect of the present invention includes:

a cleaner that cleans a vehicle component that is at least one of a window, a lamp, and a sensor that can acquire information outside the vehicle; and

a drive control section that operates the cleaner,

the cleaner has:

an air nozzle that injects air toward the vehicle component; and

a liquid nozzle that ejects a washer liquid toward the vehicle component,

the drive control unit is configured to be inputted with only a first signal for operating the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle and a second signal for operating the air nozzle without operating the liquid nozzle.

In addition, the vehicle having the vehicle cleaning system of the present invention is a vehicle cleaning system having any one of the above-described configurations.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to perform cleaning in an appropriate cleaning manner for each object to be cleaned while suppressing costs, as compared with a case where an independent pump is used for each object to be cleaned mounted on a vehicle.

Further, according to the above configuration, the cleaning degree of the object to be cleaned can be maintained while suppressing the amount of the cleaning medium used.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the vehicle cleaning system and the vehicle having the vehicle cleaning system of the present invention, it is possible to perform cleaning in an appropriate cleaning manner for each object to be cleaned while suppressing the cost as compared with the case where an independent pump is used for each object to be cleaned.

According to the vehicle cleaning system and the vehicle having the vehicle cleaning system of the present invention, the cleanliness of the object to be cleaned can be maintained while the amount of the cleaning medium used is suppressed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle cleaning system capable of ejecting a cleaning liquid and air and having a good degree of ease of use is provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle mounted with a vehicle cleaning system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle system.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a cleaning system for a vehicle.

Fig. 4 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the vehicle cleaning system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the cleaning system for a vehicle according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the cleaning system for a vehicle according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 7 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the cleaning system for a vehicle according to embodiment 4.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a cleaning liquid spray pattern by a cleaner nozzle included in the vehicle cleaning system according to embodiment 5.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a cleaning liquid spray pattern by a cleaner nozzle included in the vehicle cleaning system according to embodiment 5.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing an internal structure of the cleaner nozzle shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram according to embodiment 6 of the cleaning system for a vehicle.

Fig. 12 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the cleaning system for a vehicle according to embodiment 6.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram according to embodiment 7 of the cleaning system for a vehicle.

Fig. 14 is a block diagram according to embodiments 8 to 11 of the cleaning system for a vehicle.

Fig. 15 is a schematic view of a cleaning system for a vehicle according to embodiment 8.

Fig. 16 is a schematic view showing a sensor and a sensor cleaner according to embodiment 9 for ejecting a cleaning liquid to the sensor.

Fig. 17A is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the sensor cleaner according to embodiment 9.

Fig. 17B is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the sensor cleaner according to embodiment 9.

Fig. 18 is a schematic view showing a sensor and a sensor cleaner according to embodiment 10 for ejecting a cleaning liquid to the sensor.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the sensor cleaner according to embodiment 10.

Fig. 20 is a schematic view showing a sensor and a sensor cleaner according to embodiment 11 for ejecting a cleaning liquid to the sensor.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the sensor cleaner according to embodiment 11.

Fig. 22 is a plan view of a vehicle mounted with the cleaning systems according to

embodiments

12 and 13.

Fig. 23 is a block diagram of the cleaning system of fig. 22.

Fig. 24 is a block diagram of a cleaning system according to embodiment 12.

Fig. 25 is a flowchart of the cleaning system according to embodiment 12.

Fig. 26 is a block diagram of a cleaning system according to embodiment 13.

Fig. 27 is a flowchart of the cleaning system according to embodiment 13.

Fig. 28 is a block diagram of a cleaning system according to embodiment 14.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, the components having the same reference numerals as those already described are omitted for convenience of description. The dimensions of the members shown in the drawings may be different from the actual dimensions of the members for convenience of description.

In the description of the present embodiment, for convenience of description, the terms "left-right direction", "front-back direction", and "up-down direction" are appropriately used. These directions are relative directions set with respect to the vehicle 1 shown in fig. 1. Here, the "up-down direction" is a direction including the "up direction" and the "down direction". The "front-rear direction" is a direction including the "front direction" and the "rear direction". The "left-right direction" is a direction including the "left direction" and the "right direction".

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle 1 on which a vehicle cleaning system 100 (hereinafter, referred to as a cleaning system 100) according to the present embodiment is mounted. The vehicle 1 has a cleaning system 100. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 1 is an automobile capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode.

First, the vehicle system 2 of the vehicle 1 will be described with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the vehicle system 2. As shown in fig. 2, the vehicle system 2 includes: the vehicle control unit 3, the internal sensor 5, the external sensor 6, the lamp 7 (an example of a vehicle lamp), the HMI 8(Human Machine Interface), the GPS 9(Global Positioning System), the wireless communication unit 10, and the map information storage unit 11. The vehicle system 2 further includes: a steering actuator 12, a steering device 13, a brake actuator 14, a brake device 15, an acceleration actuator 16, and an acceleration device 17.

The vehicle control unit 3 is constituted by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The vehicle control unit 3 includes a processor such as a cpu (central processing unit), a rom (read Only memory) in which various vehicle control programs are stored, and a ram (random Access memory) in which various vehicle control data are temporarily stored. The processor is configured to develop programs specified from various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM on the RAM, and execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM. The vehicle control unit 3 is configured to control the traveling of the vehicle 1.

The interior sensor 5 is a sensor capable of acquiring information of the vehicle. The internal sensor 5 is at least one of an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like. The internal sensor 5 is configured to acquire information of the vehicle including the traveling state of the vehicle 1 and output the information to the vehicle control unit 3.

The internal sensor 5 may further have: a seating sensor that detects whether a driver is seated in a driver seat, a face orientation sensor that detects the direction of the face of the driver, an external weather sensor that detects an external weather state, a human body sensor that detects whether a person is present in the vehicle, and the like. The interior sensor 5 may further include an illuminance sensor that detects illuminance of the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1.

The external sensor 6 is a sensor capable of acquiring information outside the vehicle. The external sensor is, for example, at least one of a camera, radar, LiDAR, etc. The external sensor 6 is configured to acquire information of the outside of the host vehicle including the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 (other vehicles, pedestrians, road shapes, traffic signs, obstacles, and the like), and output the information to the vehicle control unit 3.

The camera includes an imaging Device such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (complementary MOS). The camera is a camera for detecting visible light or an infrared camera for detecting infrared light.

The radar is millimeter wave radar, microwave radar or laser radar.

LiDAR refers to the abbreviation of Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging. LiDAR is a sensor that emits invisible light to the front, and acquires information such as the distance to an object, the shape of the object, the material of the object, and the color of the object based on the emitted light and the returned light.

The lamp 7 is at least one of a headlight provided at the front of the vehicle 1, a position lamp, a rear combination lamp provided at the rear of the vehicle 1, a turn signal lamp provided at the front or side of the vehicle, various lamps for making a pedestrian or the driver of another vehicle aware of the situation of the vehicle, and the like.

The HMI 8 is constituted by an input unit that receives an input operation from the driver and an output unit that outputs traveling information and the like to the driver. The input unit includes: a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a driving mode changeover switch that switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1, and the like. The output unit is a display for displaying various kinds of travel information.

The GPS 9 is configured to acquire current position information of the vehicle 1 and output the acquired current position information to the vehicle control unit 3. The wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive travel information of another vehicle in the periphery of the vehicle 1 from the other vehicle and transmit the travel information of the vehicle 1 to the other vehicle (inter-vehicle communication). The wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive infrastructure information from infrastructure equipment such as a traffic signal and a marker light and transmit travel information of the vehicle 1 to the infrastructure equipment (road-to-vehicle communication). The map information storage unit 11 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive that stores map information, and is configured to output the map information to the vehicle control unit 3.

When the vehicle 1 travels in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically generates at least one of a steering control signal, an acceleration control signal, and a braking control signal based on the travel state information, the surrounding environment information, the current position information, the map information, and the like. The steering actuator 12 is configured to receive a steering control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the steering device 13 based on the received steering control signal. The brake actuator 14 is configured to receive a brake control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the brake device 15 based on the received brake control signal. The acceleration actuator 16 is configured to receive an acceleration control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the acceleration device 17 based on the received acceleration control signal. As described above, in the automatic driving mode, the travel of the vehicle 1 is automatically controlled by the vehicle system 2.

On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 travels in the manual driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 generates a steering control signal, an acceleration control signal, and a braking control signal in accordance with manual operations of an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a steering wheel by the driver. As described above, in the manual driving mode, the steering control signal, the acceleration control signal, and the brake control signal are generated in accordance with the manual operation by the driver, and thus the travel of the vehicle 1 is controlled by the driver.

Next, the driving mode of the vehicle 1 will be explained. The driving mode is composed of an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode. The automatic driving mode is constituted by a full automatic driving mode, an advanced driving assistance mode, and a driving assistance mode. In the full-automatic driving mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all the travel controls of the steering control, the braking control, and the acceleration control, and the driver is not in a state in which the vehicle 1 can be driven. In the advanced driving assistance mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all the travel control of the steering control, the braking control, and the acceleration control, and does not drive the vehicle 1 although the driver is in a state in which the vehicle 1 can be driven. In the driving assistance mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs travel control of a part of steering control, braking control, and acceleration control, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 with driving assistance of the vehicle system 2. On the other hand, in the manual driving mode, the vehicle system 2 does not automatically perform the travel control, and the vehicle 1 is driven by the driver without the driving assistance of the vehicle system 2.

In addition, the driving mode of the vehicle 1 may be switched by operating a driving mode switching switch. In this case, the vehicle control unit 3 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1 among 4 driving modes (the full-automatic driving mode, the advanced driving assistance mode, the driving assistance mode, and the manual driving mode) in accordance with the operation of the driving mode switching switch by the driver. The driving mode of the vehicle 1 may be automatically switched based on information on a travelable section in which the autonomous vehicle can travel, a travel prohibited section in which travel of the autonomous vehicle is prohibited, or information on an external weather state. In this case, the vehicle control unit 3 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1 based on these pieces of information. Also, the driving mode of the vehicle 1 may be automatically switched by using a seating sensor, a face orientation sensor, or the like. In this case, the vehicle control unit 3 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1 based on the output signals from the seating sensor and the face direction sensor.

Returning to fig. 1, the vehicle 1 has front LiDAR 6f, rear LiDAR 6b, right LiDAR6r, and left LiDAR6l as the external sensors 6. The front LiDAR 6f is configured to acquire information in front of the vehicle 1. The rear LiDAR 6b is configured to acquire information behind the vehicle 1. The right LiDAR6r is configured to acquire information on the right side of the vehicle 1. The right LiDAR6r is configured to acquire information on the right side of the vehicle 1. The left LiDAR6l is configured to acquire information on the left side of the vehicle 1.

In the example shown in fig. 1, the front LiDAR 6f is provided at the front of the vehicle 1, the rear LiDAR 6b is provided at the rear of the vehicle 1, the right LiDAR6r is provided at the right of the vehicle 1, and the left LiDAR6l is provided at the left of the vehicle 1. For example, front LiDAR, rear LiDAR, right LiDAR, and left LiDAR may be collectively disposed on the roof portion of the vehicle 1.

The vehicle 1 includes a right headlamp 7r and a left headlamp 7l as the lamp 7. The right headlamp 7r is provided at a right portion in the front portion of the vehicle 1, and the left headlamp 7l is provided at a left portion in the front portion of the vehicle 1. The right headlamp 7r is provided on the right side of the left headlamp 7 l.

The vehicle 1 includes a front window 1f and a rear window 1b as windows.

The vehicle 1 has a cleaning system 100. The cleaning system 100 is a system for cleaning an object to be cleaned provided outside a vehicle compartment, that is, for removing foreign substances such as water droplets, dirt, and dust adhering to the object to be cleaned by using a cleaning medium. In the present embodiment, the cleaning system 100 includes: a front window washer nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a front WW nozzle) 101, a rear window washer nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a rear WW nozzle) 102, a front LiDAR cleaner nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a front LC nozzle) 103, a rear LiDAR cleaner nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a rear LC nozzle) 104, a right LiDAR cleaner nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a right LC nozzle) 105, a left LiDAR cleaner nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a left LC nozzle) 106, a right headlamp cleaner nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a right HC nozzle) 107, and a left headlamp cleaner nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as a left HC nozzle) 108.

The front WW nozzle 101 can be used for washing the front window 1 f. The rear WW nozzle 102 can be used for washing the rear window 1 b. The front LC nozzle 103 is capable of cleaning the front LiDAR6 f. The rear LC nozzle 104 is capable of cleaning the rear LiDAR6 b. The right LC nozzle 105 is capable of cleaning the right LiDAR6 r. The left LC nozzle 106 is capable of cleaning left LiDAR6 l. The right HC nozzle 107 can clean the right headlamp 7 r. Left HC nozzle 108 can wash left headlamp 7 l.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the cleaning system 100. The cleaning system 100 includes, in addition to the nozzles 101 to 108: a storage tank 111, a pump 112 (an example of a single pump), an operation unit 115, and a control unit 116 (an example of a cleaner control unit). In the present embodiment, each of the nozzles 101 to 108 is configured to be able to discharge a cleaning liquid toward a cleaning target.

The nozzles 101 to 108 are connected to a reservoir tank 111 via a pump 112. The pump 112 delivers the cleaning liquid stored in the storage tank 111 to the nozzles 101 to 108, respectively.

The operation unit 115 is a device that can be operated by the user of the vehicle 1. The operation unit 115 outputs a signal in accordance with an operation by the user, and the signal is input to the control unit 116. For example, the operation unit 115 may be a switch provided in the vehicle interior.

Each of the nozzles 101 to 108 is provided with an actuator for opening the nozzle and discharging the cleaning liquid to the cleaning object. The actuators provided in the nozzles 101 to 108 are electrically connected to the control unit 116. The control unit 116 is also electrically connected to the pump 112, the operation unit 115, and the vehicle control unit 3.

For example, when a signal for washing the front window 1f is input to the control unit 116, the control unit 116 operates the pump 112 to feed the washing liquid from the reservoir tank 111 to the front WW nozzle 101, and operates the actuator of the front WW nozzle 101 to eject the washing liquid from the front WW nozzle 101.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 116 is configured to be able to operate the nozzles 101 to 108 so that the cleaning methods are different from each other in the nozzles 101 to 108 (a plurality of cleaners for cleaning different cleaning objects). The following description will explain the methods of varying the cleaning methods of the nozzles 101 to 108 by the control of the control unit 116, with reference to the following examples 1 to 4.

(embodiment 1)

Fig. 4 is a timing chart for explaining the operation (operation mode a) of the cleaning system 100 according to embodiment 1.

When a signal for cleaning the front window 1f is input to the control unit 116, the control unit 116 operates the pump 112 to feed the cleaning liquid from the reservoir tank 111 to the front WW nozzle 101, operates the actuator of the front WW nozzle 101 to eject the cleaning liquid from the front WW nozzle 101, feeds the cleaning liquid from the reservoir tank 111 to the LC nozzles 103 to 105 and the

HC nozzles

107 and 108, and operates the actuators of the nozzles 103 to 108 to eject the cleaning liquid from the nozzles 103 to 108. That is, the control unit 116 ejects the cleaning liquid from the LC nozzles 103 to 106 and the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 in conjunction with the ejection of the cleaning liquid from the front WW nozzle 101. When a signal for washing the front window 1f is input, the control unit 116 may discharge the washing liquid from the front WW nozzle 101 and the rear WW nozzle 102. At this time, the control unit 116 operates the actuators of the nozzles in accordance with the type of the object to be cleaned so that the number of operations of the nozzles 101 to 108 corresponding to the number of operations (input number) to be input is different from each other.

For example, the operation mode a shown in fig. 4 is an operation mode suitable for a case where the vehicle is being driven through a full automatic driving mode, an advanced driving assistance mode, among the automatic driving modes. In this case, the control unit 116 controls the operation of the actuators of the respective nozzles so that the LC nozzles 103 to 106 operate more frequently than the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 and the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 operate with respect to the input of the operation signal. Specifically, for example, the control unit 116 operates the actuators of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 4 times for every 4 operation signals, and operates the actuators of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 and the actuators of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 2 times for every 4 operation signals. This operating mode a is particularly suitable for situations where the vehicle is driving by autonomous driving and the surroundings of the vehicle are bright (daytime).

When the vehicle is driving in the full-automatic driving mode or the advanced driving assistance mode, it is important to maintain the cleanliness of these sensors in order to prevent the sensitivity of each LiDAR 6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l from decreasing. On the other hand, the storage tank 111 has a limited capacity, and the amount of the cleaning liquid used is required to be as economical as possible. Therefore, in embodiment 1, by controlling the LC nozzles 103 to 106 to operate more frequently than the

WW nozzles

101, 102 and

HC nozzles

107 and 108 with respect to the input of the operation signal, it is possible to save the cleaning liquid and maintain the sensitivity of each LiDAR 6f, 6b, 6r and 6l, compared to the case where the WW nozzles 101, LC nozzles 103 to 106 and

HC nozzles

107 and 108 are operated with the same operation frequency.

In the present embodiment, the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 may be controlled so as to be greater than the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 and the

HC nozzles

107 and 108, and the number of operations of each nozzle corresponding to the input of the operation signal is not limited to the example shown in fig. 4. For example, the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 may be different from the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108. When the vehicle is driving in the automatic driving mode (full automatic driving mode, advanced driving assistance mode) and the surroundings of the vehicle are dark (night), it is sometimes necessary to maintain the sensitivity of the LiDAR (e.g., LiDAR 6f, 6r, 6l) by lighting the left and right headlights 7r, 7 l. Therefore, the left and right headlights 7r and 7l are also required to have relatively high cleanliness. Therefore, in this case, the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 is preferably set to be larger than the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102. Further, the number of operations of the front WW nozzle 101 may be different from the number of operations of the rear WW nozzle 102, or only one of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 may be operated in response to an input of an operation signal.

(embodiment 2)

Fig. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the operation (operation mode B) of embodiment 2 of the cleaning system 100. For example, the operation mode B shown in fig. 5 is an operation mode suitable for a case where the vehicle is being driven by the driving assistance mode. In this case, the control unit 116 controls the operation of the actuator of each nozzle so that the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 is greater than the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 and the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 is greater than the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 in response to the input of the operation signal. Specifically, for example, the control unit 116 operates the actuators of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 4 times for every 4 operation signals, operates the actuators of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 2 times for every 4 operation signals, and operates the actuators of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 1 time for every 4 operation signals.

When the vehicle is driving in the driving assistance mode, it is important to maintain the cleanliness of the front window 1f and the rear window 1b in order to keep the forward and rearward visual fields of the driver good. In addition, it is also desirable to maintain the sensitivity of each LiDAR 6f, 6b, 6r, 6l while ensuring the driver's field of view. Therefore, by setting the number of operations as in the example shown in fig. 5, the cleanliness of the front window 1f and the rear window 1b and the sensitivity of the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l can be maintained while saving the cleaning liquid.

(embodiment 3)

Fig. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the operation (operation mode C) of embodiment 3 of the cleaning system 100. For example, the operation mode C shown in fig. 6 is an operation mode suitable for a case where the vehicle is being driven through the manual driving mode and is daytime. In this case, the control unit 116 controls the operation of the actuator of each nozzle so that the number of operations of the

WW nozzle

101 or 102 is greater than the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 or 108 and the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 or 108 is greater than the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 in response to the input of the operation signal. Specifically, for example, the control unit 116 operates the actuators of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 4 times for every 4 operation signals, operates the actuators of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 2 times for every 4 operation signals, and operates the actuators of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 1 time for every 4 operation signals.

When the vehicle is driven in the manual driving mode and is in the daytime, it is important to maintain the cleanliness of the front window 1f and the rear window 1b in order to keep the forward and rearward views of the driver good. On the other hand, the necessity of maintaining the illuminance of the light emitted from the left and right headlights 7r, 7l is low, and it is not necessary to acquire information on the outside of the vehicle by the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, 6l or the like. Therefore, in embodiment 2, the cleaning fluid can be saved and the cleanliness of the front window 1f, the rear window 1b, and the left and right headlights 7r and 7l can be maintained by setting the number of operations as shown in fig. 6.

In the present embodiment, the operation frequency of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 may be controlled so as to be greater than the operation frequency of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 and the operation frequency of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108, and the operation frequency of each nozzle corresponding to the input of the operation signal is not limited to the example shown in fig. 6. For example, the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 and the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 may be the same.

(embodiment 4)

Fig. 7 is a timing chart for explaining the operation (operation mode D) of the cleaning system 100 according to embodiment 4. For example, the operation mode D shown in fig. 7 is an operation mode suitable for a case where the vehicle is driving through the manual driving mode and at night. In this case, the control unit 116 controls the operation of the actuator of each nozzle so that the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 is greater than the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 and the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 is greater than the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 in response to the input of the operation signal. Specifically, for example, the control unit 116 operates the actuators of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 4 times for every 4 operation signals, operates the actuators of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 2 times for every 4 operation signals, and operates the actuators of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 1 time for every 4 operation signals.

When the vehicle is driving in the manual driving mode and at night, it is preferable to maintain the illuminance of the light emitted from the left and right headlights 7r and 7l in order to keep the forward field of view of the vehicle good. In addition, in order to enable the driver to visually recognize the forward field of view irradiated by the left and right headlights 7r and 7l, it is also required to maintain the cleanliness of the front window 1f and the rear window 1 b. On the other hand, it is not necessary to acquire information outside the vehicle by

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, 6l, or the like. Therefore, in embodiment 2, the cleanliness of the left and right headlights 7r and 7l and the front window 1f can be maintained while saving washer fluid by setting the number of operations as shown in fig. 7.

As described in the above-described embodiments 1 to 4, in the cleaning system 100, the control unit 116 is configured to be able to change the magnitude relationship between the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102, the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106, and the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108. That is, in the present cleaning system 100, an appropriate magnitude relationship between the number of operations of the LC nozzles 103 to 106 and the number of operations of the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 and/or the

HC nozzles

107 and 108 can be selected in accordance with a plurality of driving modes. As described above, the present cleaning system 100 can be operated so as to be suitable for various scenes, and therefore the degree of convenience of use of the present cleaning system 100 is improved. Further, since the

WW nozzles

101 and 102, the LC nozzles 103 to 106, and the

HC nozzles

107 and 108, which are different from each other as the object to be cleaned, can be discharged with the single reservoir tank 111 and the single pump 112, the system can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

The method of making the cleaning methods different from each other in the nozzles 101 to 108 is not limited to the method of making the operation times different in the nozzles 101 to 108 as described in the embodiments 1 to 4. For example, the control unit 116 may vary the ejection time, the ejection amount, the ejection pressure, the ejection area, and the like of the cleaning medium among the nozzles 101 to 108. Specifically, for example, the control unit 116 sets the ejection pressure of the cleaning medium in the front LC nozzle 103, the rear LC nozzle 104, the right LC nozzle 105, and the left LC nozzle 106 to be higher than the ejection pressure of the cleaning medium in the right HC nozzle 107 and the left HC nozzle 108. In the case of the automatic driving mode, the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l are required to have higher cleanliness than the left and right headlights 7r and 7 l. Therefore, it is preferable to blow out the cleaning liquid at a higher pressure for the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, 6l and clean it.

(embodiment 5)

The method of making the cleaning methods different from each other in the nozzles 101 to 108 is not limited to the method of making the cleaning methods different by the control performed by the control unit 116 as described in the above embodiments. Next, as another example of the method of making the cleaning methods different from each other, a method of making the ejection method of the cleaning liquid from the nozzle different will be described with reference to fig. 8 to 10.

Fig. 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams for explaining a spray pattern of the cleaning liquid from the cleaner nozzle of the cleaning system 100. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an injection method of the HC nozzle, and fig. 9 is a diagram showing an injection method of the LC nozzle. Fig. 8 illustrates the right HC nozzle 107 of the

HC nozzles

107 and 108. In addition, FIG. 9 illustrates front LC nozzles 103 among LCs 103-106.

As shown in fig. 8, for example, the right HC nozzle 107 has a substantially fan-shaped opening 107a, and the cleaning liquid is radially ejected from the opening 107a, and here, the ejection width of the cleaning liquid at a distance l (mm) from the opening 107a to a position defined in the ejection direction of the cleaning liquid is α (mm).

On the other hand, the front LC nozzle 103 shown in fig. 9 is configured as a jet nozzle (diffusion jet nozzle). The jet nozzle is a nozzle that controls the direction of fluid flow by interfering with the fluid flow. As shown in fig. 9, the front LC nozzle 103 as a jet nozzle can change the ejection direction of the cleaning liquid to the left and right by deflecting the flow path of the cleaning liquid.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 10, the front LC nozzle 103 has a structure as a nozzle head (diffusing fluid element) 130 in its interior. The nozzle head 130 is provided with a flow path 131, an oscillation chamber 132, a pair of

feedback flow paths

133 and 134, and a diffusion orifice 135. The oscillation chamber 132 is formed continuously with the flow path 131, and supplies the cleaning liquid from the flow path 131. The pair of

feedback channels

133 and 134 are provided on the left and right sides of the oscillation chamber 132, respectively. The

feedback flow paths

133 and 134 have

inlets

133A and 134A opening into the oscillation chamber 132 at the outlet side of the oscillation chamber 132, and

outlets

133B and 134B opening into the oscillation chamber 132 at the inlet side of the oscillation chamber 132. Thus, the

feedback flow paths

133 and 134 are configured to guide a part of the cleaning liquid supplied from the flow path 131 to the oscillation chamber 132 to branch from the

inlets

133A and 134A to the

outlets

133B and 134B, respectively, and return the part to the oscillation chamber 132 again. That is, the cleaning liquid is fed back and circulated through the

feedback flow paths

133 and 134. Thus, the cleaning liquid guided to the

feedback flow paths

133 and 134 becomes a so-called "feedback control flow", and the cleaning liquid flowing through the oscillation chamber 132 is self-oscillated, and the cleaning liquid is diffused and ejected by oscillating the cleaning liquid from the diffusion ejection port 135 to the left and right. As described above, the front LC nozzle 103 has the jet nozzle head 130, and can jet the cleaning liquid at high pressure while vibrating the cleaning liquid in the left and right direction with respect to the LiDAR6 f.

Here, as shown in fig. 9, the ejection width of the cleaning liquid at the distance l (mm) from the diffusion ejection port 135 to the position defined in the ejection direction of the cleaning liquid is β (mm). the ejection width β of the front LC nozzle 103 is preferably set to be shorter than the ejection width α of the right HC nozzle 107. thus, the front LC nozzle 103 can eject the cleaning liquid at a higher pressure than the right HC nozzle 107.

(embodiment 6)

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a cleaning system 200 according to embodiment 6. The cleaning system 200 includes front LiDAR cleaner air nozzles 203 (hereinafter referred to as front LC air nozzles 203), rear LiDAR cleaner air nozzles 204 (hereinafter referred to as rear LC air nozzles 204), right LiDAR cleaner air nozzles 205 (hereinafter referred to as right LC air nozzles 205), left LiDAR cleaner air nozzles 206 (hereinafter referred to as left LC air nozzles 206), and an air pump 212 in addition to the nozzles 101-108, the storage tank 111, the pump 112, and the like.

The front LC air nozzle 203, the rear LC air nozzle 204, the right LC air nozzle 205, and the left LC air nozzle 206 are connected to a compressed air generating device 212. The compressed air generator 212 compresses air (air) introduced from the outside and sends the compressed air to each of the LC air nozzles 203 to 206.

The front LC air nozzle 203 is disposed near the front LC nozzle 103 and is capable of injecting compressed air toward the front LiDAR6 f. The rear LC air nozzle 204 is disposed proximate to the rear LC nozzle 104 and is capable of ejecting compressed air toward the rear LiDAR6 b. The right LC air nozzle 205 is disposed near the right LC nozzle 105 and is capable of ejecting compressed air toward the right LiDAR6 r. The left LC air nozzle 206 is disposed proximate to the left LC nozzle 106 and is capable of injecting compressed air toward the left LiDAR6 l.

Fig. 12 is a timing chart for explaining the operation (operation mode E) of the cleaning system 200. For example, the operation mode E shown in fig. 12 is an operation mode suitable for a case where the vehicle is being driven in the fully automatic driving mode, the advanced driving assistance mode. In the present embodiment, the control unit 116, similarly to the operation mode a according to embodiment 1, makes the LC nozzles 103 to 104 operate more frequently than the

WW nozzles

101 and 102 and the

HC nozzles

107 and 108, and makes the LC air nozzles 203 to 206 operate after the LC nozzles 103 to 106 operate. For example, it is preferable that the control unit 116 operates the compressed air generation device 212 after the ejection of the cleaning liquid by the LC nozzles 103 to 106 is completed, and starts the ejection of the compressed air by the LC air nozzles 203 to 206.

As described above, the cleaning system 200 is configured to be able to supply cleaning fluid and compressed air to the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, 6 l. When the cleaning liquid remains in the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l, information outside the vehicle cannot be appropriately acquired, and safety during automatic driving may be impaired. Therefore, with respect to the external sensors such as LiDAR 6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l, in which the remaining of the cleaning liquid is likely to be a problem, by separately injecting compressed air independently of the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid can be reliably prevented from remaining on the sensor surface.

As a method of making the cleaning methods different from each other, in addition to the methods exemplified in the above examples, a method of making the type of the cleaning liquid, the presence or absence of the wiper blade, and the presence or absence of the check valve different can be adopted.

(7 th embodiment)

In the above embodiment, the nozzles 101 to 108 are connected to the reservoir tank 111, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of the

cleaning systems

100A and 100B according to embodiment 7.

As shown in fig. 13, the cleaning system 100A has: a front WW nozzle 101, a front LC nozzle 103, a right LC nozzle 105, a left LC nozzle 106, a right HC nozzle 107, a left HC nozzle 108, a front tank 111A, a front pump 112A (an example of a single pump), and a control unit 116A (an example of a cleaner control unit). The front WW nozzle 101, the front LC nozzle 103, the right LC nozzle 105, the left LC nozzle 106, the right HC nozzle 107, and the left HC nozzle 108 are connected to a front tank 111A via a front pump 112A. The front pump 112A feeds the cleaning liquid stored in the front reservoir 111A to the

nozzles

101, 103, 105 to 108, respectively.

Further, the cleaning system 100B includes: a rear WW nozzle 102, a rear LC nozzle 104, a rear reservoir tank 113, a rear pump 114 (an example of a single pump), and a control unit 116B (an example of a cleaner control unit). The rear WW nozzle 102 and the rear LC nozzle 104 are connected to a rear storage tank 113 via a rear pump 114. The rear pump 114 feeds the cleaning liquid stored in the rear storage tank 113 to the rear WW nozzle 102 and the rear LC nozzle 104, respectively.

As shown in fig. 13, the cleaning system may be configured to be divided at the front and rear of the vehicle 1. In this case, the control unit 116A is configured to be able to change the magnitude relationship between the number of operations of the front WW nozzle 101, the number of operations of the

LC nozzles

103, 105 to 106, and the number of operations of the

HC nozzles

107, 108. The control unit 116B is configured to be able to change the magnitude relationship between the number of operations of the rear WW nozzle 102 and the number of operations of the rear LC nozzle 104. Thus, the

respective cleaning systems

100A, 100B having the

single pumps

112A, 114, respectively, can be operated suitably for various scenes, so that the systems are simplified and the degree of convenience in use thereof is improved.

The nozzles 101 to 108 may be connected to different storage tanks. Alternatively, the nozzles 101 to 108 may be connected to a common storage tank for each type of cleaning target. For example, the nozzles 105 to 108 for LiDAR may be connected to a common first storage tank, and the

nozzles

107 and 108 for the lamps may be connected to a second storage tank different from the first storage tank.

Alternatively, the nozzles 101 to 108 may be connected to a common storage tank for each arrangement position of the cleaning target. For example, the front WW nozzle 101 and the front LC nozzle 103 may be connected to a common front tank, the right LC nozzle 105 and the right HC nozzle 107 may be connected to a common right tank, the rear WW nozzle 102 and the rear LC nozzle 104 may be connected to a common rear tank, and the left LC nozzle 106 and the left HC nozzle 108 may be connected to a common left tank.

In these cases, it is also possible to provide a cleaning system configured such that the nozzles 101 to 108 can be operated by a single pump so that the cleaning methods of the nozzles 101 to 108 are different from each other according to the object to be cleaned, thereby providing a high degree of ease of use.

In the present embodiment, the description has been given so that the driving mode of the vehicle includes the fully automatic driving mode, the advanced driving assistance mode, the driving assistance mode, and the manual driving mode, but the driving mode of the vehicle should not be limited to these 4 modes. The driving pattern of the vehicle may comprise at least 1 of the 4 patterns. For example, the driving mode of the vehicle may include only a fully automatic driving mode.

The manner of distinguishing and displaying the driving modes of the vehicle may be changed as appropriate according to the laws and regulations relating to the automated driving in each country. Similarly, the definitions of the "full automatic driving mode", the "advanced driving assistance mode", and the "driving assistance mode" described in the description of the present embodiment are merely examples, and the definitions thereof may be appropriately changed according to the laws and regulations relating to automatic driving in various countries.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cleaning system 100 is mounted on the vehicle capable of automatic driving is described, but the cleaning system 100 may be mounted on a vehicle incapable of automatic driving.

In the above-described embodiments, the nozzles 103 to 106 for cleaning LiDAR were described as the nozzles for cleaning the external sensor, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The cleaning system 100 may have nozzles for cleaning a camera, a radar, and the like instead of the nozzles 103 to 106, or may also have the nozzles 103 to 106. In addition, when a plurality of sensor cleaners (sensor cleaner nozzles) corresponding to a plurality of external sensors (for example, LiDAR and a camera) having different detection methods and a plurality of external sensors (for example, front LiDAR and rear LiDAR) having different mounting positions on the vehicle 1 are included, the control unit 116 may operate the plurality of sensor cleaners in such a manner that the cleaning methods of the sensor cleaners are different from each other. External sensors such as LiDAR and cameras that have different detection methods are often required to have different scenes. Therefore, the cleaning method is provided differently for each kind of external sensor, so that the cleanliness can be easily maintained for each sensor corresponding to a specific scene.

In addition, an external sensor such as LiDAR may have a detection surface and a cover covering the detection surface. The nozzle for cleaning the external sensor may be configured to clean the detection surface, or may be configured to clean a cover covering the sensor.

The cleaning medium sprayed by the cleaning system 100 includes air, water, or a cleaning solution containing a detergent. The cleaning media ejected to the front and rear windows, the headlight, and the LiDAR may be different from each other, or may be the same.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cleaning medium is ejected from the nozzles 101 to 108 by operating the actuators provided in the nozzles 101 to 108 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The nozzles 101 to 108 may be provided with normally closed valves, the pump may be operated so that a high pressure is always generated between the reservoir and the nozzles 101 to 108, and the control unit 116 may open the valves provided in the nozzles 101 to 108 to discharge the cleaning medium from the nozzles 101 to 108.

The nozzles 101 to 108 are provided with 1 or more discharge holes for discharging the cleaning medium. The nozzles 101 to 108 may be provided with 1 or more ejection holes for ejecting the cleaning liquid and 1 or more ejection holes for ejecting air.

The nozzles 101 to 108 may be provided independently of each other, or may be formed in a plurality of units. For example, the right LC nozzle 105 and the right HC nozzle 107 may be configured as a single unit. The right LC nozzle 105 and the right HC nozzle 107 may be configured as a single unit in a manner such that the right headlamp 7r and the right LiDAR6r are integrated.

In the above-described embodiment, the input of the operation signal to the control unit 116 is based on a signal output from the operation unit 115 such as a switch operated by the user, but a signal output when a dirt sensor mounted on each part of the vehicle detects dirt may be input to the control unit 116.

Alternatively, a signal output when the dirt sensor detects dirt may be input to the vehicle control unit 3(ECU or autopilot control unit), and a signal for activating at least one of the various cleaner nozzles may be input from the vehicle control unit 3 to the control unit 116.

A signal output when the sensor detects dirt may be input to the vehicle control unit 3, and a signal for operating at least one of the various cleaners may be input from the vehicle control unit 3 to the various cleaners. In this case, the control portion 116 is mounted as a part of the vehicle control portion 3.

Fig. 14 is a block diagram of a cleaning system 1100 according to embodiments 8 to 11. The cleaning system 1100 includes, in addition to the nozzles 1101 to 1108: a front tank 1111, a front pump 1112, a rear tank 1113, a rear pump 1114, an operation unit 1115, and a control unit 1116 (an example of a cleaner control unit). In the present embodiment, each of the nozzles 1101 to 1108 is configured to be capable of discharging the cleaning liquid toward the cleaning target.

The front WW nozzle 1101, the front LC nozzle 1103, the right LC nozzle 1105, the left LC nozzle 1106, the right HC nozzle 1107, and the left HC nozzle 1108 are connected to the front tank 1111 via the front pump 1112. The front pump 1112 delivers the cleaning liquid stored in the front storage tank 1111 to the front WW nozzle 1101, the front LC nozzle 1103, the right LC nozzle 1105, the left LC nozzle 1106, the right HC nozzle 1107, and the left HC nozzle 1108.

The rear WW nozzle 1102 and the rear LC nozzle 1104 are connected to a rear reservoir 1113 via a rear pump 1114. The rear pump 1114 delivers the cleaning liquid stored in the rear storage tank 1113 to the rear WW nozzle 1102 and the rear LC nozzle 1104.

The operation section 1115 is a device that can be operated by the user of the vehicle 1. The operation section 1115 outputs a signal in accordance with an operation by the user, and the signal is input to the control section 1116. For example, the operation unit 1115 may be constituted by a switch or the like provided inside the vehicle compartment.

Each of the nozzles 1101 to 1108 is provided with an actuator for opening the nozzle to discharge the cleaning liquid to the cleaning target. The actuators provided in the nozzles 1101 to 1108 are electrically connected to the controller 1116. The control unit 1116 is also electrically connected to the front pump 1112, the rear pump 1114, the operation unit 1115, and the vehicle control unit 3.

For example, when a signal for washing the front window 1f is input to the control unit 1116, the control unit 1116 operates the front pump 1112 to feed the washing liquid from the front reservoir 1111 to the front WW nozzle 1101, and operates the actuator of the front WW nozzle 1101 to eject the washing liquid from the front WW nozzle 1101.

(8 th embodiment)

Fig. 15 is a schematic view of a cleaning system 1100 according to embodiment 8.

As shown in fig. 15, a plurality of pumps (WW front pump 1112A, LC. HC front pump 1112B) are attached to the front tank 1111 as an example of the front pump 1112. The WW front pump 1112A (an example of a first pump) is a pump for supplying the cleaning liquid to the front WW nozzle 1101, and is provided, for example, on the rear side of the front storage tank 1111. The LC/HC front pump 1112B (an example of a second pump) is a pump for supplying the cleaning liquid to the front LC nozzle 1103, the right LC nozzle 1105, the left LC nozzle 1106, the right HC nozzle 1107, and the left HC nozzle 1108, and is provided, for example, on the front side of the front tank 1111.

The WW front pump 1112A and the front WW nozzle 1101 are connected by a line 1120 (an example of a first line). The LC/HC front pump 1112B and the front LC nozzle 1103, the right LC nozzle 1105, and the left LC nozzle 1106, and the LC/HC front pump 1112B and the right HC nozzle 1107, and the left HC nozzle 1108 are connected to each other via a pipe 1122 (an example of a second pipe). A branching portion 1124 is provided in the middle of the pipe 1122 to branch the second pipe 1122 to the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106 side and the

HC nozzles

1107, 1108 side. A switching valve 1126 is provided inside the branching portion 1124. The switching valve 1126 is connected to the control unit 1116, and receives a signal from the control unit 1116, and can appropriately switch between a case where the cleaning liquid flowing through the pipe 1122 flows into the pipe 1122A on the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106 side and a case where the cleaning liquid flows into the pipe 1122B on the

HC nozzles

1107, 1108 side. In this case, while the cleaning liquid is being ejected from the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106, the cleaning liquid is not ejected from the HC nozzles 1107, 1108 (the same applies to the contrary). Note that the switching valve 1126 is not provided, and when the LC/HC front pump 1112B is operated, the fluid may be constantly introduced into both the conduit 1122A on the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106 side and the conduit 1122B on the

HC nozzles

1107, 1108 side.

Here, it is preferable that the pipe 1122 (including 1122A and 1122B) for supplying the cleaning liquid from the front tank 1111 to the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106 and the

HC nozzles

1107, 1108 is wider than the pipe 1120 for supplying the cleaning liquid from the front tank 1111 to the WW nozzle 1101. Preferably, the LC nozzle side pipe passage 1122 is shorter than the WW nozzle side pipe passage 1120. That is, the length of the pipe 1122 (specifically, the length from the LC/HC pre-pump 1112B to the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106) is preferably set shorter than the length of the pipe 1120.

The WW front pump 1112A and the LC · HC front pump 1112B are connected to the controller 1116. The control unit 1116 controls, for example, the WW front pump 1112A and the LC/HC front pump 1112B so that the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid ejected from the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106 becomes higher than the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid ejected from the WW nozzle 1101. The control unit 1116 may control the WW front pump 1112A and the LC/HC front pump 1112B so that the spray time, the number of sprays, and the like of the cleaning liquid are different between the front WW nozzle 1101 and the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, and 1106 in addition to or instead of the control of the spray pressure. In this case, the control unit 1116 preferably makes the ejection time of the cleaning liquid ejected from each

LC nozzle

1103, 1105, 1106 longer than the ejection time of the cleaning liquid ejected from the front WW nozzle 1101, or makes the ejection frequency of the cleaning liquid ejected from each

LC nozzle

1103, 1105, 1106 larger than the ejection frequency of the cleaning liquid ejected from the front WW nozzle 1101.

Further, a pump control unit for controlling the WW front pump 1112A and the LC/HC front pump 1112B may be provided separately from the control unit 1116, and the pump control unit may control the injection pressure, the injection time, the number of times of injection, and the like of the cleaning liquid by the WW front pump 1112A and the LC/HC front pump 1112B by receiving a signal from the vehicle control unit 3 or the control unit 1116.

Although not shown, the rear pump 1114 includes a plurality of pumps (a WW rear pump and an LC rear pump), and the WW rear pump and the LC rear pump are installed at different positions of the rear storage tank 1113. Preferably, the pipe line connecting the WW rear pump and the rear WW nozzle 1102 is provided independently of the pipe line connecting the LC rear pump and the rear LC nozzle 1104, and the pipe line on the rear LC nozzle 1104 side is thicker and/or shorter than the pipe line on the rear WW nozzle 1102 side. Preferably, the WW post-pump and the LC post-pump are connected to the control unit 1116, and the control unit 1116 controls the WW post-pump and the LC post-pump so that the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid from the rear LC nozzle 1104 becomes higher than the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid from the rear WW nozzle 1102.

Further, when the vehicle is driven in the automatic driving mode (particularly, the full driving mode and the advanced driving assistance mode), it is required to maintain the sensitivity of each of the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l well. Therefore, in this case, the required cleanliness of the

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l is higher than that of the front window 1f, the rear window 1b, and the headlights 7r and 7 l.

Therefore, in the cleaning system 1100 according to embodiment 8, the cleaning liquid supply line 1120 connecting between the front WW nozzle 1101 and the front WW pump 1112A and supplying the cleaning liquid from the front tank 1111 to the front WW nozzle 1101 is configured to be different from (independently provided with) the line 1122 connecting between the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106 and the front LC-HC pump 1112B and supplying the cleaning liquid from the front tank 1111 to the

LC nozzles

1103, 1105, 1106. Further, a line for supplying the cleaning liquid from the rear reservoir 1113 to the rear WW nozzle 1102 between the rear WW nozzle 1102 and the rear WW pump after connection is different from a line for supplying the cleaning liquid from the rear reservoir 1113 to the rear LC nozzle 1104 between the rear LC nozzle 1104 and the rear LC pump after connection. This makes it possible to vary the spray pressure, spray time, spray frequency, and the like of the cleaning liquid between

WW nozzles

1101 and 1102 and LC nozzles 1103 to 1106, for example, and thus to perform cleaning in an appropriate cleaning manner for each object to be cleaned. In addition, in the cleaning system 1100, since it is not necessary to provide a storage tank for each object to be cleaned, the system can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

In the case where these pipes are, for example, circular pipes, if L is the length of the pipe, d is the pipe diameter, ρ is the density, and the flow velocity is v, the pressure loss is expressed by the following expression (1). Further, λ is a tube friction coefficient.

(formula 1)

According to the above equation (1), if the length L of the pipe is long, the pressure loss Δ P becomes large. On the other hand, if the length L of the line is short, the pressure loss Δ P becomes small. Further, if the pipe diameter d is large, the pressure loss Δ P becomes small, and if the pipe diameter d is small, the pressure loss Δ P becomes large. Therefore, in the present cleaning system 1100, the pipe (e.g., pipe 1122) for supplying the cleaning liquid to each of the LC nozzles 1103 to 1106 is made thicker and/or shorter than the pipe (e.g., pipe 1120) for supplying the cleaning liquid to each of the

WW nozzles

1101, 1102, etc. Thus, the cleaning liquid can be ejected from the LC nozzles 1103 to 1106 at a high pressure as compared with the

WW nozzles

1101 and 1102.

As described above, the front pump 1112 (the front pump 1112A for WW and the front pump 1112B for LC and HC) and the rear pump 1114 (the rear pump for WW and the rear pump for LC) can be controlled by the control unit 1116 to eject the cleaning liquid at high pressure from the LC nozzles 1103 to 1106 to the

LiDAR

6f, 6B, 6r, and 6 l.

In the above-described 8 th to 11 th embodiments, the configuration in which the

nozzles

1101, 1103, 1105 to 1108 are connected to the front storage box 1111 and the

nozzles

1102, 1104 are connected to the rear storage box 1113 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the nozzles 1101 to 1108 may be connected to a single storage tank. In this case, the line connecting the LC nozzles 1103 to 1106 and the reservoir tank is provided independently of the line connecting the

WW nozzles

1101 and 1102 and the reservoir tank, and the line on the LC nozzle side is thicker and/or shorter than the line on the WW nozzle side.

Alternatively, the nozzles 1101 to 1108 may be connected to a common storage tank for each arrangement position of the cleaning target. For example, the front WW nozzle 1101 and the front LC nozzle 1103 may be connected to a common front tank, the right LC nozzle 1105 and the right HC nozzle 1107 may be connected to a common right tank, the rear WW nozzle 1102 and the rear LC nozzle 1104 may be connected to a common rear tank, and the left LC nozzle 1106 and the left HC nozzle 1108 may be connected to a common left tank. In this case, for example, a line connecting the common front reservoir and the front WW nozzle 1101 is different from a line connecting the common front reservoir and the front LC nozzle 1103, and the line on the front LC nozzle 1103 side is made thicker and/or shorter than the line on the front WW nozzle 1101 side. The piping between the rear reserve tank and the rear WW nozzle 1102 that are connected in common is different from the piping between the rear reserve tank and the rear LC nozzle 1104 that are connected in common, and the piping on the rear LC nozzle 1104 side is thicker and/or shorter than the piping on the rear WW nozzle 1102 side.

Alternatively, the nozzles 1101 to 1108 may be connected to separate pumps, and the discharge of the cleaning medium from the nozzles 1101 to 1108 may be controlled by controlling the pumps independently by the controller 1116. In this case, the nozzles 1101 to 1108 may be connected to different storage boxes or may be connected to a common storage box. In this case, it is also preferable that the line connecting the pump and the WW nozzle is different from the line connecting the pump and the LC nozzle, and the line on the LC nozzle side is thicker and/or shorter than the line on the WW nozzle side.

In the above-described embodiments, nozzles 1103 to 1106 for cleaning LiDAR have been described as nozzles for cleaning external sensors, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The cleaning system 1100 may have nozzles for cleaning cameras, nozzles for cleaning radars, and the like instead of the nozzles 1103 to 1106, or may also have the nozzles 1103 to 1106 at the same time. In addition, in the case where a plurality of sensor cleaners (sensor cleaner nozzles) corresponding to each of a plurality of external sensors (for example, LiDAR and a camera) whose detection methods are different and a plurality of external sensors (for example, front LiDAR and rear LiDAR) whose mounting positions in the vehicle 1 are different from each other are included, the control unit 1116 may make the piping between the plurality of sensor cleaners and the pump different from each other. External sensors such as LiDAR and cameras that have different detection methods are often required to have different scenes. Therefore, by making the pipe line different for each type of external sensor, the ejection pressure, the ejection time, the number of ejections, and the like of the cleaning liquid can be made different, and the cleanliness can be easily maintained for each sensor corresponding to a specific scene.

(9 th embodiment)

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a LiDAR and LC nozzle (embodiment 9) that sprays cleaning fluid onto the LiDAR. In FIG. 16, the front LiDAR 6f of the multiple LiDAR 6f, 6b, 6r, 6l is illustrated along with the front LC nozzle 2103.

The front LiDAR 6f has a cleaning target surface P having a horizontally long rectangular shape as shown in fig. 16, for example. The front LC nozzle 2103 is mounted to be movable with respect to the cleaning target plane P of the front LiDAR6 f. That is, the front LC nozzle 2103 is configured to be rotatable about the rotation axis 2103S by a movable device not shown in the figure within the rotation angle θ. The main body of the front LC nozzle 2103 may be fixed, and only the opening 2103A may be rotatable.

A dirt sensor 2130 (an example of a dirt detecting unit) for detecting the presence or absence of dirt on the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR 6f is provided in the vicinity of the front LiDAR6 f. The dirt sensor 2130 is connected to the control unit 2116, and transmits a dirt signal to the control unit 2116 when detecting dirt on the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR6 f. The dirt sensor 2130 divides the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR 6f into a plurality of areas, and can detect which area has dirt adhered thereto. Specifically, the cleaning target surface P is divided into 3 regions, i.e., a right region R1, a center region R2, and a left region R3, in the left-right direction.

The controller 2116 moves the front LC nozzle 2103 based on the dirt signal received from the dirt sensor 2130 so that the opening 2103A of the front LC nozzle 2103 faces an area determined to have dirt adhered, of the plurality of areas R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P. For example, when it is determined that dirt adheres to the right region R1 of the plurality of regions R1 to R3, the controller 2116 rotates the front LC nozzle 2103 about the rotation shaft 2103S so that the opening 2103A of the front LC nozzle 2103 faces the right region R1 and the cleaning liquid is ejected from the front LC nozzle 2103 toward the right region R1, as shown in fig. 17A. When determining that the dirt adheres to the right area R1 and the left area R3, the controller 2116 rotates the front LC nozzle 2103 so that the opening 2103A of the front LC nozzle 2103 first faces the right area R1 and the cleaning liquid is ejected from the front LC nozzle 2103 toward the right area R1, and then rotates the front LC nozzle 2103 so that the opening 2103A of the front LC nozzle 2103 faces the left area R3 and the cleaning liquid is ejected from the front LC nozzle 2103 toward the left area R3 as shown in fig. 17B. As described above, the control unit 2116 can spray the cleaning liquid only to the region where dirt adheres, that is, the region to be cleaned, among the plurality of regions R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR6 f. That is, the controller 2116 operates the movable front LC nozzle 2103 so that the cleaning intensity for the region to be cleaned out of the plurality of regions R1 to R3 is different from the cleaning intensity for the region not to be cleaned. This enables the cleaning liquid to be efficiently sprayed to the region to be cleaned on the surface P to be cleaned, and thus the cleaning liquid can be saved and the cleanliness of the front LiDAR 6f as the object to be cleaned can be maintained.

The dirt sensor 2130 can also detect the degree of dirt adhering to the cleaning target surface P (the degree of dirt), and can transmit a dirt signal including information on the degree of dirt to the control unit 2116. In this case, as an example of a method of making the cleaning intensity for the area to be cleaned and the cleaning intensity for the area not to be cleaned different among the plurality of areas R1 to R3, the control unit 2116 may also make the ejection pressure, the ejection time, and the number of ejections of the cleaning liquid from the front LC nozzle 2103 different according to the degree of soiling in each area of the surface P to be cleaned, based on the information on the degree of soiling received from the soil sensor 2130. For example, in the case where the dirt sensor 2130 determines that the degree of dirt in the right region R1 is higher than the degree of dirt in the left region R3, the control portion 2116 can make the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid from the front LC nozzle 2103 for the right region R1 higher than the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid for the left region R3. Similarly, the control portion 2116 may extend the ejection time of the cleaning liquid to the right region R1 or increase the number of times the cleaning liquid is ejected.

When determining that dirt adheres to any of the plurality of regions R1 to R3, the controller 2116 may move the front LC nozzle 2103 so that the opening 2103A of the front LC nozzle 2103 sequentially faces the right region R1, the center region R2, and the left region R3, and sequentially eject the cleaning liquid toward the plurality of regions R1 to R3 so that the cleaning liquid is ejected over the entire cleaning target surface P, as shown in fig. 16.

(10 th embodiment)

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a front LiDAR 6f and a front LC nozzle 2203 according to embodiment 10.

As shown in fig. 18, the front LC nozzle 2203 according to embodiment 10 has a plurality of (3 in this case) opening portions 2203A to 2203C. The openings 2203A to 2203C are arranged to face a plurality of regions R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR 6f, respectively. Specifically, opening 2203A is provided in a direction toward right region R1 of cleaning target surface P, opening 2203B is provided in a direction toward center region R2 of cleaning target surface P, and opening 2203C is provided in a direction toward left region R3 of cleaning target surface P.

The control unit 2116 can operate the front LC nozzle 2203 so that the cleaning liquid is ejected from the opening of the front LC nozzle 2203 corresponding to the region determined to have the dirt adhered, among the plurality of regions R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P, based on the dirt signal from the dirt sensor 2130. For example, when it is determined that dirt adheres to the right region R1 of the plurality of regions R1 to R3, the control portion 2116 ejects the cleaning liquid toward the right region R1 from the opening portion 2203A of the front LC nozzle 2203 corresponding to the right region R1. When it is determined that the right region R1 and the left region R3 have the dirt adhered thereto, the control portion 2116 ejects the cleaning liquid to the right region R1 and the left region R3 from the opening 2203A corresponding to the right region R1 and the opening 2203C corresponding to the left region R3, respectively, as shown in fig. 19. As described above, in the 10 th embodiment, the control portion 2116 may also be able to spray the cleaning liquid only for the area to be cleaned in the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR6 f. This enables the cleaning liquid to be efficiently sprayed to the region to be cleaned of the cleaning target surface P, and thus the cleaning liquid can be saved and the cleanliness of the cleaning target surface P can be maintained.

As an example of a method of making the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region to be cleaned and the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region not to be cleaned different among the plurality of regions R1 to R3, the control unit 2116 may also make the ejection pressure, the ejection time, and the number of ejections of the cleaning liquid from the respective openings 2203A to 2203C different from each other in accordance with the degree of soiling in each region of the surface P to be cleaned, based on the information on the degree of soiling received from the soil sensor 2130. For example, when the dirt sensor 2130 determines that the degree of dirt in the right region R1 is higher than the degree of dirt in the left region R3, the control portion 2116 can increase the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid from the opening portions 2203A corresponding to the right region R1 to be higher than the ejection pressure of the cleaning liquid from the opening portions 2203C corresponding to the left region R3, increase the ejection time of the cleaning liquid, or increase the number of times of ejection of the cleaning liquid.

When determining that dirt adheres to the entire cleaning target surface P, the controller 2116 may eject the cleaning liquid from the respective openings 2203A to 2203C of the front LC nozzle 2203 toward the respective corresponding regions R1 to R3, as shown in fig. 18.

(embodiment 11)

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a front LiDAR 6f and a plurality of front LC nozzles according to embodiment 11.

As shown in fig. 20, the plurality of front LC nozzles 2303A to 2303C according to example 11 are arranged so as to correspond to the plurality of regions R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR 6f, respectively. Specifically, the front LC nozzle 2303A is disposed at a position corresponding to the right region R1 of the cleaning target surface P, for example, at a position facing the left side surface of the cleaning target surface P. The front LC nozzles 2303B are disposed at positions corresponding to the central region R2 of the cleaning target surface P, for example, at positions facing the upper surface of the cleaning target surface P. The front LC nozzles 2303C are disposed at positions corresponding to the left region R3 of the cleaning target surface P, for example, at positions facing the right side surface of the cleaning target surface P.

The controller 2116 can operate the front LC nozzles 2303A to 2303C so as to eject the cleaning liquid from the front LC nozzles 2303A to 2303C corresponding to the regions determined to have the dirt adhered, from among the plurality of regions R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P, based on the dirt signal from the dirt sensor 2130. For example, when it is determined that dirt adheres to the right region R1 of the plurality of regions R1 to R3, the control portion 2116 ejects the cleaning liquid toward the right region R1 from the front LC nozzle 2303A corresponding to the right region R1. When determining that the dirt adheres to the right and left regions R1 and R3, the controller 2116 ejects the cleaning liquid to the right and left regions R1 and R3 from the

front LC nozzle

2303A and 2303C corresponding to the right and left regions R1 and R3, respectively, as shown in fig. 21. As described above, in embodiment 11, the control portion 2116 can also spray the cleaning liquid only for the region to be cleaned in the cleaning target surface P of the front LiDAR6 f. That is, the control unit 2116 ejects the cleaning liquid from the plurality of front LC nozzles 2303A to 2303C so that the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region to be cleaned out of the plurality of regions R1 to R3 of the front LiDAR 6f is different from the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region not to be cleaned. This enables the cleaning liquid to be efficiently sprayed to the region to be cleaned on the surface P to be cleaned, and thus the cleaning liquid can be saved and the cleanliness of the surface P to be cleaned can be maintained.

Further, as in the 9 th and 10 th embodiments, the control unit 2116 may also make the ejection pressure, the ejection time, and the number of ejections of the cleaning liquid from the front LC nozzles 2303A to 2303C different from each other in accordance with the degree of fouling in the respective regions R1 to R3 of the cleaning target surface P, based on the fouling degree information received from the fouling sensor 2130. When determining that dirt adheres to the entire cleaning target surface P, the controller 2116 may eject the cleaning liquid from the front LC nozzles 2303A to 2303C toward the regions R1 to R3, as shown in fig. 20.

As a method of making the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region to be cleaned and the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region not to be cleaned different among the plurality of regions R1 to R3, in addition to the methods described in the above-described examples, a method of making the ejection amount and the ejection area of the cleaning liquid different for each of the regions R1 to R3 of the surface P to be cleaned can be adopted.

In the above-described embodiment, the cleaning target surface P is divided into 3 regions, i.e., the right region R1, the center region R2, and the left region R3, in the left-right direction, but the present invention is not limited to this example. The cleaning target surface P may be divided into 2 or 4 or more divided regions, or the regions R1 to R3 may be divided into 2 regions in the vertical direction, for example. For each of these divided regions, the nozzle structure according to the above-described embodiment may be used to control the manner of spraying the cleaning liquid so that the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region to be cleaned is different from the cleaning intensity corresponding to the region not to be cleaned.

In the case where a plurality of sensor cleaners (sensor cleaner nozzles) each corresponding to a plurality of external sensors (for example, LiDAR and a camera) whose detection methods are different and a plurality of external sensors (for example, front LiDAR and rear LiDAR) whose mounting positions in the vehicle 1 are different from each other are included, the control portion 2116 may operate the plurality of sensor cleaners in such a manner that the cleaning intensities of the sensor cleaners are different from each other. External sensors such as LiDAR and cameras that have different detection methods are often required to have different scenes. Therefore, by making the cleaning intensity different for each kind of external sensor, it is easy to maintain the cleanliness for each sensor corresponding to a specific scene.

In the above-described embodiment, dirt on the cleaning target surface P of the LiDAR 6f is detected by the dirt sensor 2130 disposed in the vicinity of the cleaning target (for example, the LiDAR 6f), but the present invention is not limited to this example. The LiDAR 6f can also detect dirt on its own cleaning target surface P. In this case, the LiDAR 6f itself can be used as the dirt detection unit without separately providing the dirt sensor 2130.

In the above-described embodiment, the dirt sensor 2130 is configured to input a signal, which is output when it detects dirt on the cleaning target surface P of the LiDAR 6f, to the control unit 2116, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, a signal output by the dirt sensor 2130 when dirt is detected may be input to the vehicle control unit 3(ECU or autopilot control unit), and a signal for activating at least one of the various cleaner nozzles may be input from the vehicle control unit 3 to the control unit 2116.

A signal output by the dirt sensor 2130 when dirt is detected may be input to the vehicle control unit 3, and a signal for activating at least one of the various cleaners may be input from the vehicle control unit 3 to the various cleaners. In this case, the control portion 2116 is mounted as a part of the vehicle control portion 3.

Fig. 22 is a plan view of a vehicle 1 on which a vehicle cleaning system 3100 according to embodiments 12 and 13 (hereinafter, referred to as a cleaning system 3100) is mounted. As shown in fig. 22, the vehicle 1 includes a cleaning system 3100 according to

embodiments

12 and 13 of the present invention. The cleaning system 3100 is a system for removing foreign substances such as water droplets, dirt, and dust adhering to a cleaning object using a cleaning medium. In the present embodiment, the cleaning system 3100 includes: a front window washer (hereinafter, referred to as front WW)3101, a rear window washer (hereinafter, referred to as rear WW)3102, a front LiDAR cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as front LC)3103, a rear LiDAR cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as rear LC)3104, a right LiDAR cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as right LC)3105, a left LiDAR cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as left LC)3106, a right headlamp cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as right HC)3107, a left headlamp cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as left HC)3108, a front camera cleaner 3109a, and a rear camera cleaner 3109 b. Each of the cleaners 3101 to 3109b has one or more nozzles, and a cleaning medium such as a cleaning liquid or air is ejected from the nozzles toward an object to be cleaned.

The front WW 3101 can be used for washing the front window 1 f. The rear WW 3102 can be used for cleaning the rear window 1 b. The front LC 3103 is capable of cleaning front LiDAR6 f. The rear LC 3104 is capable of cleaning the rear LiDAR6 b. The right LC 3105 is capable of washing the right LiDAR6 r. The left LC 3106 is capable of washing left LiDAR6 l. The right HC 3107 can clean the right headlamp 7 r. Left HC 3108 can wash left headlamp 7 l. The front camera cleaner 3109a can clean the front camera 6 c. The rear camera cleaner 3109b can clean the rear camera 6 d.

Fig. 23 is a block diagram of the cleaning system 3100. The cleaning system 3100 includes a front tank 3111, a front pump 3112, a rear tank 3113, a rear pump 3114, a cleaner switch 3115, a cleaner controller 3116 (controller), and a mode selector switch 3117, in addition to the cleaners 3101 to 3109 b.

The front WW 3101, front LC 3103, right LC 3105, left LC 3106, right HC 3107, left HC 3108, and camera cleaner 3109 are connected to the front storage tank 3111 via a front pump 3112. The front pump 3112 delivers the cleaning liquid stored in the front storage tank 3111 to the front WW 3101, the front LC 3103, the right LC 3105, the left LC 3106, the right HC 3107, the left HC 3108, and the front camera cleaner 3109 a.

The rear WW 3102 and the rear LC 3104 are connected to a rear storage tank 3113 via a rear pump 3114. The rear pump 3114 conveys the cleaning liquid stored in the rear storage tank 3113 to the rear WW 3102, the rear LC 3104, and the rear camera cleaner 3109 b.

Each of the cleaners 3101 to 3109b is provided with an actuator for opening the nozzle and discharging the cleaning liquid toward the object to be cleaned. The actuators provided in the cleaners 3101 to 3109b are electrically connected to the cleaner control section 3116. The cleaner control unit 3116 is also electrically connected to the front pump 3112, the rear pump 3114, and the vehicle control unit 3.

(embodiment 12)

Fig. 24 is a more detailed block diagram of a cleaning system 3100 according to embodiment 12 of the invention. As shown in fig. 24, the cleaner control section 3116 includes: drive control portion 3121, signal generation portion 3122, and dirt determination portion 3123. The drive control unit 3121 outputs an electric signal for operating each of the cleaners 3101 to 3109b to each of the cleaners 3101 to 3109 b. Signal generation unit 3122 generates a signal to be input to drive control unit 3121. Dirt determining unit 3123 determines whether or not the cleaning target is soiled, and outputs a dirt signal to signal generating unit 3122 when it is determined that the cleaning target is soiled.

The front LC 3103 has a liquid nozzle 3103a and an air nozzle 3103 b. The liquid nozzle 3103a ejects the cleaning liquid supplied from the front reservoir 3111 toward the front LiDAR6 f. If the drive control portion 3121 outputs an electric signal to the liquid nozzle 3103a, the actuator provided at the liquid nozzle 3103a operates to eject the cleaning liquid toward the front LiDAR6 f.

The air nozzle 3103b introduces air from the surroundings, and ejects the introduced air toward the front LiDAR6 f. If the drive control portion 3121 outputs an electrical signal to the air nozzle 3103b, the actuator provided at the air nozzle 3103b operates to eject air toward the front LiDAR6 f.

In fig. 24, the liquid nozzles and the air nozzles provided in the

other cleaners

3101, 3102, 3104 to 3109b are omitted and depicted, but the

other cleaners

3101, 3102, 3104 to 3109b also have the liquid nozzles and the air nozzles, respectively. The same applies to fig. 26 and 28. In the following description, an example in which the cleaner controller 3116 controls the operation of the front LC 3103 will be described, but the

other cleaners

3101, 3102, 3104 to 3109b are also controlled by the cleaner controller 3116 in the same manner as the front LC 3103.

The drive control unit 3121 outputs electric signals for operating the various cleaners 3101 to 3109 b. The drive control unit 3121 is configured to receive only either a first signal for operating the air nozzle 3103a and the liquid nozzle 3103b or a second signal for operating the air nozzle 3103a and not operating the liquid nozzle 3103 b.

The cleaning liquid stored in the front storage tank 3111 or the like is limited, but the air can be used indefinitely as long as it is introduced from the surroundings. In addition, if the dirt adhering to the object to be cleaned is light dirt such as dust, the dirt can be sufficiently removed by blowing air.

Therefore, the cleaning system 3100 according to embodiment 12 is configured such that the signal input to the drive control unit 3121 is either the first signal or the second signal. That is, the drive control portion 3121 does not operate the liquid nozzle 3103b without operating the air nozzle 3103a at the opportunity of operating the front LC 3103. Therefore, the operating opportunity of the air nozzle 3103a is always the same as or more than that of the liquid nozzle 3103 b. Since the chance of cleaning by air is the same as or greater than the chance of cleaning by the cleaning liquid, the amount of the cleaning liquid used is reduced, and the cleaning target can be easily kept clean. Therefore, the frequency of replenishing the cleaning liquid can be reduced, and the use convenience is improved.

Next, the operation of the cleaning system 3100 configured as described above will be described with reference to fig. 25. Fig. 25 is a flowchart of processing executed by the cleaning system 3100 according to embodiment 12 of the present invention. The cleaning system 3100 is configured to repeatedly execute the processing shown in fig. 25 periodically at predetermined time intervals.

As shown in fig. 25, first, the dirt determination portion 3123 determines whether or not there is dirt in the front LiDAR 6f (step S01). The fouling determination unit 3123 outputs a fouling signal to the signal generation unit 3122 if there is fouling in the front LiDAR 6f, and does not output a fouling signal to the signal generation unit 3122 if there is no fouling.

Next, it is determined whether or not the dirt signal is input from the dirt determination portion 3123 to the signal generation portion 3122 (step S02). If the dirt signal is not input (No in step S02), signal generation unit 3122 ends the process without outputting either the first signal or the second signal to drive control unit 3121.

When the dirt signal is input to signal generation unit 3122 (step S02: Yes), signal generation unit 3122 generates a second signal and outputs the second signal to drive control unit 3121 (step S03). The drive control portion 3121 to which the second signal is input drives the front LC 3103 so as to operate the air nozzle 3103a and not the liquid nozzle 3103b (step S04).

After outputting the second signal, signal generation unit 3122 determines again whether or not the dirt signal is input from dirt determination unit 3123 (step S05). If the dirt signal is not input after the second signal is output (No in step S05), signal generation portion 3122 ends the process without outputting either the first signal or the second signal.

When the dirt signal is input even after the second signal is output (Yes in step S05), signal generation unit 3122 outputs the first signal to drive control unit 3116 (step S06). The drive control portion 3121 to which the first signal is input drives the front LC 3103 so as to operate the air nozzle 3103a and the liquid nozzle 3103 b.

It is preferable that the drive control unit 3121 to which the first signal is input operate the air nozzle 3103a after operating the liquid nozzle 3103 b. By blowing the air toward the object to be cleaned after blowing the cleaning liquid, it is possible to fly the droplets of the cleaning liquid adhering to the object to be cleaned by the air, and it is easy to keep the object to be cleaned cleaner.

That is, the cleaning system 3100 according to embodiment 12 includes:

a dirt determination unit 3123 that detects dirt on the

vehicle members

1f, 1b, 6f, 6b, 6r, 6l, 6c, 6d, 7r, and 7l and outputs a dirt signal when at least one of the dirt is detected; and

a signal generation unit 3122 that generates a first signal or a second signal to be input to the drive control unit 3121,

signal generation unit 3122 outputs a second signal to drive control unit 3121 in accordance with the dirt signal output from dirt determination unit 3123,

signal generation unit 3122 outputs the first signal to drive control unit 3121 when the fouling signal is still received after the second signal is transmitted.

According to the cleaning system 3100 configured as described above, the cleaning liquid can be blown out and the dirt can be dropped without dropping the dirt even after the air is blown out. Further, since it is attempted to blow out only air at first and drop the dirt, it is possible to suppress consumption of the cleaning liquid as compared with a case where it is attempted to drop the dirt using the cleaning liquid at first. This makes it easy to keep the cleaning object clean while suppressing the consumption of the cleaning liquid.

(embodiment 13)

Next, a cleaning system 3100A according to embodiment 13 of the present invention will be described. Fig. 26 is a block diagram of a cleaning system 3100A according to embodiment 13 of the present invention. Fig. 27 is a flowchart of processing performed by the cleaning system 3100A of embodiment 13. The elements common to the cleaning system 3100 according to embodiment 12 described above are not described in detail.

As shown in fig. 26, the cleaning system 3100A is configured such that the cleaner switch 3115 can output an electric signal to the signal generation portion 3122. The cleaner switch 3115 is a switch that is installed in the vehicle interior and can be operated by the occupant. When the occupant operates the cleaner switch 3115, an operation signal is output to the signal generation portion 3122 in accordance with the operation.

The cleaner controller 3116 is configured to repeatedly execute the processing of step S11 to step S15 shown in fig. 27 at regular intervals.

First, the signal generation portion 3122 determines whether or not an operation signal is input from the cleaner switch 3115 (step S11).

When the operation signal is not input (No in step S11), signal generation unit 3122 outputs the second signal to drive control unit 3121 (step S14). The driving portion 3121 to which the second signal is input drives the front LC 3103 so as to operate the air nozzle 3103a and not the liquid nozzle 3103 b. That is, the signal generation unit 3122 of the cleaning system 3100A is configured to periodically output the second signal to the drive control unit 3121 at predetermined time intervals as long as the user does not operate the cleaner switch 3115.

On the other hand, when the operation signal is input (step S11: Yes), signal generation unit 3122 outputs the first signal to drive control unit 3121 (step S12). The drive control portion 3121 to which the first signal is input drives the front LC 3103 so as to operate the air nozzle 3103a and the liquid nozzle 3103b (step S13).

I.e., the cleaning system 3100A of embodiment 13,

a signal generation portion 3122 is provided, the signal generation portion 3122 generates a first signal or a second signal to be inputted to the drive control portion 3121,

the signal generation unit 3122 is configured to periodically output the second signal to the drive control unit 3121 at intervals of a predetermined time,

the signal generation portion 3122 is configured to output the first signal to the drive control portion 3121 when an operation signal output from the operation portion 3115 that outputs a signal in accordance with an operation by the user is input to the signal generation portion 3122.

According to the cleaning system 3100A configured as described above, since the cleaning target object is periodically cleaned, the cleaning target object can be easily kept in a clean state. In this case, since the periodic cleaning is performed only by air, the cleaning liquid is not consumed. On the other hand, when the user notices the dirt of the cleaning object, the user operates the cleaner switch 3115 to perform cleaning using both air and the cleaning liquid, and therefore the dirt can be effectively dropped. As described above, the cleaning system 3100A can easily keep the cleaning object in a clean state while suppressing the consumption of the cleaning liquid, and can effectively drop dirt when the user desires.

As shown in fig. 26, the cleaning system 3100A may have a configuration in which a signal generated by the dirt determining unit 3123 described in embodiment 12 is input to the signal generating unit, in addition to the configuration in which a signal generated by the cleaner switch 3115 is input to the signal generating unit.

(embodiment 14)

Next, a cleaning system 3100B according to embodiment 14 of the present invention will be described. Fig. 28 is a block diagram of a cleaning system 3100B according to embodiment 14 of the present invention. The elements common to the cleaning system 3100A according to embodiment 13 described above are not described in detail.

As shown in fig. 28, in cleaning system 3100B, start switch 3124 is configured to output an electric signal to signal generation unit 3122. The start switch 3124 is a switch that is provided in the vehicle interior and can be operated by an occupant. If the occupant operates the start switch 3124, the engine is started in the vehicle equipped with the engine, or the vehicle system is turned ON in the case of an electric vehicle. If the occupant operates the start switch 3124, a start signal is output to the signal generation portion 3122 in accordance with the operation.

When the activation signal of the activation switch 3124 is input to the signal generation unit 3122, the cleaning system 3100B is configured to output the second signal to the drive control unit 3121. Further, the cleaning system 3100B is configured to output the first signal to the drive control portion 3121 when an operation signal output from the cleaner switch 3115 that outputs a signal in accordance with an operation by the user is input to the signal generation portion 3122. When the dirt signal is input from dirt determining unit 3123 to signal generating unit 3122, signal generating unit 3122 is configured to output the second signal to drive control unit 3121.

The signal generation portion 3122 is implemented as a part of the vehicle control portion 3, and the drive control portion 3121 is implemented as a part of the cleaner control portion 3116. As described above, the signal generation portion 3122 and the drive control portion 3121 may be implemented as a part of the vehicle control portion 3 or a part of the cleaner control portion 3116. Alternatively, cleaner control portion 3116 includes all of drive control portion 3121, signal generation portion 3122, and dirt determination portion 3123. Vehicle control unit 3 may include all of drive control unit 3121, signal generation unit 3122, and dirt determination unit 3123.

According to the cleaning system 3100B of embodiment 14, since the cleaning object is always cleaned by air at the time of engine start or at the time of vehicle system ON, the use of the vehicle 1 can be started in a state where the cleaning object is clean. In addition, at this time, the cleaning object is cleaned only by air, and the cleaning liquid is not consumed. Therefore, the cleaning liquid is not excessively consumed when the cleaning object is free from dirt or the like at the start of use of the vehicle 1.

In the above-described 12 th to 14 th embodiments, the operation of the front LC 3103 is controlled by the cleaner controller 3116, but the same control may be performed for the

other cleaners

3101, 3102, 3104 to 3109 b. Alternatively, at least one of the cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be controlled as described above.

However, the present invention is preferably applied to the drive control portion 3121 that controls the driving of the sensor cleaners 3103 to 3106, 3109a, and 3109b that clean the external sensor 6. In a vehicle traveling in the automatic driving mode, the external sensor 6 needs to be kept clean as compared with the front window 1f and the headlight 7, and the number of times of washing the external sensor 6 is increased. According to the present invention, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be suppressed as compared with the case where the external sensor 6 is cleaned only by the cleaning liquid, and the frequency of replenishment of the cleaning liquid can be reduced.

In the above-described 12 th to 14 th embodiments, the liquid nozzles and the air nozzles are provided in all the cleaners 3101 to 3109b, but at least one of the cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be provided with the liquid nozzles and the air nozzles, and the other cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be provided with only the liquid nozzles or only the air nozzles.

In the above-described embodiment, the cleaning system 3100 has been described as including the external sensor 6, but the cleaning system 3100 may be configured not to include the external sensor 6. However, if the cleaning system 3100 is configured as a component body including the external sensor 6, it is preferable because the positioning accuracy of the cleaners 3103 to 3106, 3109a, and 3109b with respect to the external sensor 6 can be easily improved. Further, when the cleaning system 3100 is mounted on the vehicle 1, the external sensor 6 can be incorporated in a lump, and thus the assembly into the vehicle 1 is also improved.

In the above-described embodiment, 3103 to 3106 for cleaning

LiDAR

6f, 6b, 6r, and 6l, 3109a for cleaning the

front camera

6c, and 3109b for cleaning the rear camera 6d have been described as cleaning the external sensor 6, but the present invention is not limited to this. The cleaning system 3100 may include a cleaner for cleaning radar, etc. instead of the sensor cleaners 3103 to 3106, 3109a, and 3109b, or may include the sensor cleaners 3103 to 3106, 3109a, and 3109b at the same time.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the

cleaners

3101, 3103, 3105 to 3109a are connected to the front storage tank 3111 and the

cleaners

3102, 3104, 3109b are connected to the rear storage tank 3113 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The cleaners 3101-3109 b may be connected to a single storage tank. The cleaners 3101-3109 b may be connected to storage boxes different from each other.

Alternatively, the cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be connected to a common storage tank for each type of cleaning object. For example, the LCs 3103 to 3106 may be connected to a common first storage box, and the

HCs

3107 and 3108 may be connected to a second storage box different from the first storage box.

Alternatively, the cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be connected to a common storage box for each arrangement position of the cleaning objects. For example, the front WW 3101, the front LC 3103 and the front camera cleaner 3109a may be connected to a common front storage box, the right LC 3105 and the right HC 3107 may be connected to a common right storage box, the rear WW 3102, the rear LC 3104 and the rear camera cleaner 3109b may be connected to a common rear storage box, and the left LC 3106 and the left HC 3108 may be connected to a common left storage box.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the actuators provided in the cleaners 3101 to 3109b are operated to discharge the cleaning medium from the cleaners 3101 to 3109b has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be provided with normally closed valves, respectively, the pumps may be operated so as to always generate a high pressure between the storage tank and the cleaners 3101 to 3109b, and the cleaner controller 3116 may open the valves provided in the cleaners 3101 to 3109b, thereby ejecting the cleaning medium from the cleaners 3101 to 3109 b.

Alternatively, the cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be connected to separate pumps, respectively, and the cleaner controller 3116 may control the discharge of the cleaning medium from the cleaners 3101 to 3109b by controlling the pumps independently. In this case, the cleaners 3101 to 3109b may be connected to different storage tanks, or may be connected to a common storage tank.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is needless to say that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the description of the embodiments. This embodiment is merely an example, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiment can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

The present application is based on japanese patent application No. 2017-115872, 2017-13, 2017-115873, 2017-13, 2017-115875 and 2017-115877, 2017-13, 2017-115877, which are incorporated by reference herein.

Claims

1. A cleaning system for a vehicle, having:

a single pump;

2. The cleaning system for vehicle of claim 1, wherein,

the cleaning mode is different in at least one of the number of operations of the plurality of cleaners, the ejection time, the ejection amount, the ejection pressure, and the ejection area of the cleaning medium corresponding to the input of the signal for a predetermined number of times.

3. The cleaning system for vehicle of claim 2, wherein,

the cleaner includes: a sensor cleaner that cleans the sensor; at least one of a window washer that washes a windshield of the vehicle and a lamp cleaner that washes a lamp of the vehicle,

4. The cleaning system for vehicle according to claim 2 or 3,

the cleaner includes a sensor cleaner for cleaning the sensor and a lamp cleaner for cleaning a lamp of the vehicle,

5. The cleaning system for vehicle according to claim 3 or 4,

the cleaning medium can be supplied with a cleaning liquid and air to the sensor cleaner.

6. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the cleaner includes a plurality of sensor cleaners that respectively clean a plurality of sensors different from each other in at least one of a detection method or a mounting position in the vehicle,

7. A cleaning system for a vehicle, comprising a cleaning head,

a single pump; and

8. The cleaning system for vehicle of claim 7, wherein,

the cleaner includes a sensor cleaner that cleans the sensor,

9. A cleaning system for a vehicle, having:

a window washer that washes a windshield of a vehicle with a washing medium;

a first pump for supplying the washing medium to the window washer;

a second pump for supplying the cleaning medium to the sensor cleaner,

10. The cleaning system for vehicle of claim 9, wherein,

the cleaner control unit is configured to control the first pump and the second pump.

11. The cleaning system for vehicle according to claim 9 or 10,

the first pump and the second pump are controlled so that the ejection pressure of the cleaning medium from the sensor cleaner is higher than the ejection pressure of the cleaning medium from the window washer.

12. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 9 to 11,

the second conduit is thicker than the first conduit.

13. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 9 to 12,

the second line is shorter than the first line.

14. A cleaning system for a vehicle for cleaning an object to be cleaned,

the vehicle cleaning system includes:

15. The cleaning system for vehicle of claim 14, wherein,

the varying of the cleaning intensity includes varying at least one of the number of times of spraying the cleaning medium, a spraying time, a spraying amount, a spraying pressure, and a spraying area.

16. The cleaning system for vehicle according to claim 14 or 15,

further comprising a dirt detecting section for detecting which of the plurality of regions has dirt,

17. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 14 to 16,

the plurality of regions are each divided in the left-right direction of the surface to be cleaned.

18. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 14 to 17,

the cleaner has a nozzle having at least one opening for ejecting the cleaning medium,

19. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 14 to 17,

the cleaner has a nozzle having a plurality of openings for ejecting the cleaning medium,

20. The cleaning system for vehicle according to any one of claims 14 to 17,

the cleaner has a plurality of nozzles for spraying the cleaning medium,

21. A cleaning system for a vehicle, having:

a drive control section that operates the cleaner,

the cleaner has:

an air nozzle that injects air toward the vehicle component; and

a liquid nozzle that ejects a washer liquid toward the vehicle component,

22. A vehicle having the cleaning system for a vehicle recited in any one of claims 1 to 21.